This Old Battleship

Yesterday I conquered fear of the unknown and went for a little lap swimming. I did my research, www.BeginnerTriathlete.com so that I would know the distance I should be able to cover and what rest breaks I should take to not get totally exhausted - and it worked! I could have swam more after the 30 minutes, but decided to work the plan in place like a good girl (I hope my Doctor reads this!)

I swam what sorta looked like this:

I did a little warm up of a few laps, then swam 50 yards continuously with nice little breaks in between. Swimming is very different than running. There was a great deal of rhythm required in my stroke to make it efficient. I concentrated on making my body straight (horizontally) in the water, and disturbing the surface of the water as little as possible. I ended up with 800yds.

I wanted to do the front crawl like I've seen others do - but I had forgotten my ear plugs. When I was a kid, I had an inner ear infection from getting water in my ears. I was very sick, and my ear drum burst. After that, I was the kid with the ear plugs at the pool. Turning my head to breathe seems like prime time for water entry.

Plus, I'm afraid of rotary breathing.

I decided to practice that on land - in the comfort of my own home - to try to get the rhythm. It's pretty scary in the water...I tried.

Tomorrow I'm going for a little bike ride. 5:30am, one and a half hours on the bike, wish I could run instead. Next Tuesday, I will be able to do 4 miles, and then the bike for another 45 minutes. Will I miss the bike time?? Do I think I might grow up to be a tri-athlete? Just how crazy can I get before anyone really notices? Do these sweatpants make my butt look big?

Stay tuned.

Those Who Can't Run...

... swim.   One of my goals for 2011 is to learn to swim for exercise.  Recovery from injury is as good a time as any, right?  I picked up some basic gear and will hit the pool tomorrow.  I know what you're thinking, and yes, you can look as dead sexy as me in a swim cap and goggles.

Yackity-Yack

My kid nearly was truly abused today. You know how young people like to think that they have it so rough at home...well, I 'bout made it all come true for them today.

I knew at 8:30 this morning that our 8yo daughter was making the choice to have a crummy day. she was resistant to getting dressed and stomped up the steps. I largely ignore stuff like this, because it's done to "get my goat." Then she began to bang on the air registers and pretend to cry...that was enough.

At math time she looked at me and said "No" when I told her to do her work. I let her have a couple of minutes to change her mind, and then she ended up in her room until she got it done. After lunch, we got together and she got better.

Her brother on the other hand...

MOUTHY. He's fast approaching the big 1-3 and it shows. I get really incensed when he mocks or rolls his eyes at me. I don't ever demand respect from our children, but I feel that through my love and care for them that I have earned it. Being treated like a moron doesn't bode well.

Went to the Y and had a fight with an elliptical trainer. Those machines are just not my thing. Not being able to run AT ALL is forcing me to try different things to keep my cardio endurance up and ready for my knee to be better. So far, I like the bike. I haven't tried the spin bike yet, but the recumbent bike is fun. I don't have to worry about my rear hurting after a spin on that one.

Have I told you how awesome my husband is?! He stayed home while I went to the Y and then let me get groceries all by myself while he bathed babies. I sometimes have a suffocation feeling - normally I just have to close my eyes and breathe. Today, I was able to actually get away - that was SO needed. I felt selfish taking the time to myself, but I will be a better Momma tomorrow.

The Verdict

Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome!

The place where my knee cap is supposed to track on top of my thigh bone is inflammed. Doc says I have been training to hard and this is a VERY common over use injury. He did commend me for my Galloway Run/Walk/Run program. Knowing that I am prone to injury, it's smarter to take those walk breaks. I would rather be a run/walker in to my 70's than be a runner that is broken down at 40.

Treatment plan as follows:

Two weeks NO running. Ice and Ibuprofen constantly. Cross training on the bike or eliptical is okay. I need to start lower body strength training 3x's a week, but limited squats and lunges - maybe more static holds, yoga and such. He did give me some examples of moves.

When I resume running, I go back at half of what I was doing. That makes my daily runs only 2 miles and my "long runs" 5. I can increase at 5% or .5 mile per week. Right now it doesn't look like I will be up to running my next race 3/26 which is a 10 miler.

So long as I can run the Half Marathon on 5/1, I'm cool with it. The 10 miler on 3/26 is only a training run. Doc says if I do what he says, I can be running pain free - and continue to do so.

Yay - another over use injury. Gee ma knee Christmas!! How much use is "Normal Use" for this body!?

Time for a Running Break

What a gorgeous day! When it was 62 degrees at noon, I knew I would be running in SHORTS today!!

Our 12yo son rode his bike along side me (and way in front of me!) and commented that I was faster than last we ran together. He's right...last fall I had about a 13:10 average pace and would have given my left running shoe to get into the 12's! I completed today's run in an...

11:45/min mile average pace!!

And, I did it on a hurting knee! This winter, I have been doing speed drills once a week. At first, I didn't think they were helping, but all of a sudden my average pace has improved greatly! My goal by summer is a 5k in 33:00 or less.

I can DO IT!!

On a sad note - I will be taking the next week completely off of running. My knee hasn't been good since my 10 miler last Tuesday. I've been babying it back to health, but today's 4 mile run was tough in the last mile - AND - my knee continued to hurt through the afternoon despite my RICE efforts.

It will be good to switch up the routine. I usually do Yoga X on Mondays, but will have to see what I can pull out to really challenge myself for Tuesday. Perhaps a little Plyometrics is in order? I've been needing to do some more consistent lower body weights on Thursday's, but have hesitated to give up a run. Oh, I do love to run...

One week off of running...one of the first nice weather weeks of the season. *sigh* I must....for the long term!

A Little Sore Today

Normally, I run on Thrusdays - but in order to give my poor knee a rest, I decided to get out some Slim in 6 with Debbie Siebers!

The last time I did this workout, was almost a year ago, and at least 30lbs ago! First of all an hour long workout used to seem like a huge commitment, not now. I was having a great time, and able to complete the workout with little difficulty. Truth be told, I could have upped the weights a little and really burned it up!

Today, my legs are a little sore from the side lifts and pliete squats. As a runner, I don't do those much (or nearly enough!). It was nice to see Debbie's smiling face and to do something a little different.

Tonight is Friday Fitness at church. My very first class! I have about 6 confirmed guests - and if the office remembers to put it in the bulletin for Sunday, I might have more next week.